I have a CLayton 5.5 v purchased off ebay for 640.00
Problem is I'm the second owner without any documentation.
Are there any 5.5v owners out there willing to talk about proper setup and coal operation of this unit.

Looks like that execept mine is white in color.
It does have the shaker grates , did not come with a forced draft blower but I corrected that, the connections were there so I added one.

My Question is the forced air blower seems too powerful for the unit although I do have 10 inch round ductwork, when the fire dies down its like the air conditioning kicks on.

The unit does take 30 inch logs and on My unit the loading door does not close properly unless its hot then no problem, perhaps the previous owner overfired and put a twist into the door frame, he said he only burnt wood in it.

I don't mean the big blower on the back of the unit to blow the hot air around the house. I mean a combustion blower, like the small one in the front of the furnace in the link. It forces a lot more air on a call for heat to rev it up, I think the manual calls for one with Anthracite.

You must be burning wood if it feels like A/C after awhile.

Sometimes things get boinked moving them around, these things arn't made for touring. It looks like the door is cast and the shell is a weldment, I doubt there is a twist. More like worn hinges and/or bad door gasket. They take a set and harden over time. It is a good idea to replace the gaskets every few years. I would do it to any used unit I bought as you never know how long it has been in service.

You may want to check the speed on your duct blower.

Last edited by coaledsweat on Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jake
That looks like a steal for $640. I seen a hand fired forced air stove on eBay go for around $1,000 recently.

In the owners manual coaledsweat refers too there are great diagrams on how to tie your coal furnace into your existing duct work. Anyone interested in ideas on how to tie in coal furnaces into existing hot air furnaces take a peek at their model 1400 pdf towards the back.

This season I started burning, I am using a standard coal burner that I tied into the duct work with my existing gas furnace. It works, but it’s not like something engineered to do the job. I’d love to have the big blower and controls that puppy has. Stove envy.

If your unit has the two 8inch takeoffs like some of the US Stoves, into one 10 inch, I can see your concern. The 10 inch main duct might be fine for this season, but you should have a little closer to 16 inchs of main trunk. I’ve read that HVAC practice that has you neck down your trunk as it goes. So if you started at 16 (maybe rectangle duct), ran a few feet then 12, a few more feet then 10 you keep the same pressure. You might not need to replace your entire 10 foot run if you research this principal and it applies to you.

I recommend two things for a new coal hot air beginner.
#1. A digital temperature gauge, with an external probe for the outside temperature. Look for one that shows 10ths, so you can see it say 88.6, 88.7, 88.8. Put the outside probe in your duct work. Be careful the probe doesn’t touch the duct itself, otherwise it will read a lower temperature from the metal. You’ll know for sure what you’re blowing after the combustion fan kicks off. Circulating air isn’t always a bad thing, even if its just 80 degree air, it will keep your house at a more even temperature. 80-85 degree air doesn’t feel that warm out of the registers, but it could keeps your house warm when it’s in to 40s and 50s outside. I read one some of the US Stoves have a 1 speed fans with 2 or 3 speed fans as an option. It’s possible yours is a one speed, with the controls for variable speed. Maybe you can email them part numbers of what you have.

#2. A draft gauge or more officially known as a manometer is a big help. A good draft is critical for a coal fire, and if you can keep it steady and controllable you will have less problems and a more efficient furnace. If you have a barometric damper great, that takes a lot of the guess work out... and you might be fine without. Anyway, you plumb a manometer in your chimney pipe between your stove and your damper. I did mine while I was still burning… just be careful and wear gloves. Dwyer makes a great one for $31.75 + tax and sh of a few bucks. http://www.dwyer-inst.com/htdocs/pressure/Model25-40Price.cfmThis link is broken, either the page no longer exists or there is some other issue like a typo. The Mark II Model 25 is in the range we need. -0.04 to -0.06 is most typical.

Running without a barometric is asking for trouble, more so with a furnace than a boiler.
Good idea coal_kid, duct gauge, stack temp and manometer are all essential for you education and operation of your furnace. Changing to Anthracite is going to require a whole new set of rules from wood. Prepare to fall in love.

I'm going to fire up the camera and take a few pics of the furnace and install to date.

It has a plenum set up just the ducts that come off of it are ten inch round not the square ductwork most houses have. I figured the designers took into account a more restrictive setup and over compensated on the blower, I do have the three speed control on the furnace but nothing changes when moving the speed selector switch and I only have two wires running from the blower so it must be a single speed blower???

If you plan on burning wood, I would change your flue setup. You need the crimped ends to run towards the furnace. If you get creasote in the flue, it will come out when burned hot. Easy fix just reverse the connections. Also get a barometric damper installed.